Where I'd Like to Be When the World Falls
by Vivere Sine Timore
Summary: It's been 30 years since Natara left. 25 since Mal remarried. 15 since he was named Captain. 2 since his son, Jared, joined the force. And now, with a new detective transferring in, everything's about to change again. FULL SUMMARY INSIDE
1. Chapter 1

AN: Gasp! What's this? An actual story with and actual plot? I think it is!

All right, so here's how this story is going to work: at the beginning of each chapter, including this one, I will put a short flashback of sorts; just to help you guys understand what happened. To an extent, at least. I don't want to give everything away. Where's the fun in that? Anyway, the flashbacks won't necessarily go in order. That'll be up to you to figure out.

Full Summary:

Set a few months after the Volume 5 Finale. It's been thirty years since Natara was transferred back to Miami. Twenty-five years since Mal remarried. Fifteen years since Captain Yeong stepped down and Mal was named Captain. Two years since Mal's son, Jared, joined the force. Two weeks since Jared made Senior Detective. One week since a new Junior detective was transferred in from Miami and was partnered with Jared. And Mal can't help but notice that she bears a striking resemblance to his old partner...

* * *

><p><em>"Gone? What do you mean she's gone?" Mal demanded, lurching to his feet. His hands gripped Captain Yeong's desk firmly.<em>

_"Special Agent Williams came to me and informed me that she thought it would be best for her to go back to Miami." Mal let go of his death grip on the desk and paced the length of the room. He refused to believe that Natara was actually gone. Ever since that night just a few weeks ago... They'd pretended it had never happened. They'd avoided it in conversation and didn't tell anyone else._

_"Moving on to more pressing matters, I'd like you to take on the Jennings case. The killer has very precise methods..."_

* * *

><p>"I'm sorry, but I just don't think you're ready for this."<p>

"Bull crap. I've been a detective for five more years than you have, not to mention that I'm five years older than you. I know for a fact that I am more than ready. Quit pulling rank on me."

Mal huffed and rolled his eyes as he listened to his son and his new partner bickering. They'd only been working together for a week, and he was already sick of their constant arguing.

"Oh, please. If I'm not allowed to pull rank then you're not allowed to play the age card. Either way, you're not taking lead on this case, Malia."

"And I'm sure that if you don't get what your way, you'll go running to your daddy and cry and snivel until you get what you want."

"Fallon! Blackwell! My office. _Now,_" Mal barked at them. The pair shuffled into the room, glancing nervously at each other. They took a seat in front of Mal's desk, taking in his stoic expression. Jared knew very well what that meant; he'd grown up seeing that same expression when he misbehaved. Mal slid a picture of a portly man across his desk for the two detectives to see. The man was decked out from head to toe in camouflage, grinning as he held up the head of a dead buck.

"Marvin Alexander, a DA who has managed to put away many, many criminals. His wife reported him missing this morning."

"But Dad, we're supposed to be leaving for that detectives' retreat in two days, not to mention that we're already working the Connelly case. Hey, speaking of which, who do you think- ow! Hey!" Jared broke off as Malia jabbed her elbow into his ribs. Jared glowered at her before turning back to his father.

"The Connelly case will be reassigned to Detective Schmitt. Mayor Seth Holland," Mal ground out between his teeth, as if it pained him to say it, "urged me to put my best detectives on this case. Unfortunately that means the two of you. I suggest you start by talking to his wife and then moving from there." The phone on Mal's desk rang. As Mal reached over to answer it, Malia and Jared began arguing over who would take lead again. Jared noticed his father's face grow dark and he sat up straighter in his chair, his interest piqued.

"Yes, of course. I'll send them right over." Mal hung up the phone. "Ignore what I said before. Let's go. Detective Greene is waiting for us at the marina."

Later:

Malia shifted uncomfortably as the white sheet covering the body was peeled back. Mal's eyebrows knit together and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I'll be damned," Jared said softly. He knelt next to the body, studying it closely. The man was bloated and soaked from being in the water, but there was no mistaking who it was. He was dressed in camouflage and there was a branch as thick as Jared's wrist protruding from his chest. His dead eyes stared blankly skyward.

"John Doe. Washed up sometime last night or early this morning. An elderly couple found him tangled in a net. Most likely killed by that stick in his chest. We'd need to do a full autopsy to know if he simply fell on it or if he was stabbed." Ken shook his head. "This guy must've been in the water for days. There's no evidence on him; no fingerprints, DNA, nothing. My guess is that it all got washed away."

"He's no John Doe," Malia interjected. "His name's Marvin Alexander, and he's a DA at the local firm. His wife just reported him missing this morning." Mal grabbed the two younger detectives and dragged them a few feet away from the body.

"Find the person who did this," he growled. "And do it fast. I want this guy behind bars before the two of you have to leave for that retreat. I'm sure that between the two of you, you'll figure something out." Mal brushed past them and stomped over to his car. Jared sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I guess we might as well start with his wife."

Malia nodded absently. "Agreed."

* * *

><p>So. How's that for a start, huh?<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

AN: DUDE! LABRADOODLE!

abbstagirl: Yes, sadly they are getting old. It's necessary, for plot purposes, but I just can't imagine them being that age. Either way, you are correct. Mal would be about sixty-three and Natara probably around sixty-one at this point.

* * *

><p><em>Natara watched as her four-year-old daughter chased after a small white butterfly. Malia's joyful laugh reached her ears and she couldn't help but smile at the sound. It had been nearly five years since she'd left San Francisco and just under four since she'd given up her position as an FBI agent, but it was for the best. Besides, she enjoyed her life as it was now, with her daughter and her husband.<em>

_Still, she couldn't help but wonder what her old friends were up to. She'd heard that Amy had gotten married, too. Kai was... a lost cause. He was a nice guy, but she just couldn't see him with a woman. And Mal-_

_"Mommy! Mommy, look!" Malia held out her finger for her mother to see. Perched on the end of her tiny finger was a caterpillar. Natara smiled and gathered her daughter close, Malia's hair tickling her chin as she rested it gently on her head. Sometimes she reminded her so much of her father. Malia spun away from her mother and held her finger out to her father._

_"Daddy! Look what I found!" Andrew lifted the small girl onto his lap and examined the caterpillar with her. Natara smiled as she observed them, their heads bowed together. She looked so much like him that it was uncanny. Natara knew right then that she had made the right choice in leaving her old life behind in San Francisco._

* * *

><p>"Mrs. Alexander, thank you for meeting with us," Malia smiled warmly, shaking the older woman's hand. "We're so sorry for your loss."<p>

"If there's anything at all that we can do for you, please let us know." The woman smiled sadly and took a seat opposite the two detectives.

"Thank you, but the only thing you can do for me now is find the person who did this," she said. "I'll help however I can." Malia nodded and produced a small notepad from her pocket. Grabbing a pencil from her purse, she turned back to the woman.

"Mrs. Alexander, what can you tell us about your husband?" she asked.

"Well, he was charming, very likeable. He made friends easily, and as far as I know there wasn't anyone who might have wanted to harm him," Mrs. Alexander said, folding her hands on her lap. "He and his friends sometimes went hunting in the woods, down by Santa Cruz. He was actually down there this weekend with his hunting buddies. He seemed really excited, and kept telling me that he couldn't wait to get out in the woods again. I found that sort of odd, seeing as he told me a few weeks earlier that he was getting bored of the same old game. He said he needed a real challenge." Malia jotted down everything she said, glancing up occasionally.

"Do you know why he seemed so eager to go hunting if he said he was getting bored of hunting the same kinds of animals?" Jared questioned.

"No. I... I had asked him about it, but he wouldn't tell me what they had planned," she said, partially lost in thought. "I still don't know what happened out there. I know that he and his four buddies left on Thursday, and that they were supposed to get back yesterday. When Marvin didn't come back I thought that maybe they got delayed, until I saw one of his friends at the store last night."

Malia frowned. So many things stuck out to her, but she knew better than to point them out right in front of the victim's wife. "Thank you for your time, Mrs. Alexander." she pulled a white business card from her purse. "That's my card. Please, don't hesitate to call if you think of anything else, or see something."

"Thank you, detectives," the older woman said warmly. "I really do appreciate this." Malia and Jared turned back towards their car as the door closed behind them.

"Something about that story doesn't add up," Jared said confidently.

"Yeah," Malia nodded. "Ken said that Marvin had been in the water for days. If they just got back yesterday, that would have meant that Marvin died while they were on the trip."

"So why didn't they call off the hunting trip and come back home? And why was his body in the water?" Malia shook her head and shrugged. "Come on. I want to see the crime scene again."

Later:

Jared frowned as he observed the man in front of him. Marvin Alexander had been stabbed through the chest- or he had fallen on it- the coroner's report would tell. The man had died in a worn, now bloodstained, camo jacket. It was obviously old and worn regularly; it was torn in more than a few places.

"Hey, I think I might have something." Jared straightened up and strode over to where Malia was going over her old notes. She flipped between a few different pages, her eyebrows knitting together as she scanned them.

"What? What is it?"

"There have been a string of disappearances all around San Francisco, right?" Jared nodded, motioning for Malia to continue. "I don't know how to explain it, but I think they might be connected. I don't know how or if it's even a valid thought. But I... I can just feel it, you know?"

"How about we head back to the station and look through some of the files, then?" Jared suggested. "I don't think I'll be able to get much more out of this scene." He glanced over his shoulder as a beat cop snapped a picture of the body. He knew that there was something there, right in front of his face. He just didn't know what he should be looking for.


	3. Chapter 3

_Jared slumped down in his seat on the bench, scowling as he watched his father shake hands with first the Mayor, and then the Captain of the SFPD. Or, rather, former Captain. His dad was the Captain, now. He swung his legs back and forth, the tips of his shoes just barely touching the ground._

_He hated being the son of a cop. His dad never had time to play with him anymore. The only time he ever spent with Jared was when he was teaching him how to be a good cop. Jared missed the days when he dad would take him to the park and play baseball with him and then carry him home on his shoulders. They never got to do that anymore._

_Which meant that he was more often than not stuck with the chore of babysitting his little sister. Kailynn was alright, he guessed. She was just too little. His mom told him that he couldn't play rough with her, because she was only four and he was nine. And that meant he had to play dolls with her a lot of the time._

_He glowered darkly as he watched his father wrap an arm around his mother's waist and pull her in close for a kiss. It just wasn't fair._

* * *

><p>"That was Mrs. Alexander," Malia said as she took her seat next to Jared once more. "She said she dropped off a photo of Marvin and his hunting friends by the lab. Lauren and Liam are analyzing it now." The table in front of them was littered with open files. There were eight files in all; seven missing and one dead.<p>

Malia plucked the file she had been looking at from the table and reviewed it. It was for a Meryl Vacek, a 42-year-old woman living in downtown San Francisco. She had three children: a grown son in college and twin daughters in their last year of high school. There were two charges of DUI in her file, and a note that seemed to imply that she was the prime suspect in a hit-and-run from six years ago.

The next one she picked up was for a Charles Goodrich, a mechanic and alleged wife beater. His domestic abuse case had stood to go to trial, but his wife had backed out of testifying at the last minute, and Goodrich had walked.

"Look at this," Jared said, leaning over so Malia could read the file he was holding. "James Tan, a 19-year-old drug dealer. He was sentenced to five years, but got out early when he made a deal with the DA to turn in his boss. And this guy, Kirk Porter. He's a 52- year old conman, and just look at the size of his file."

"All of these people seem to have some sort of criminal record," Malia mused, sliding the last file closer to her. She flipped it open, then furrowed her brow. Kathryn Winters, age 28; a second-grade teacher. That's all her file said. No charges, no misdemeanors, not even a single parking ticket. Malia leaned in closer, as if that would make more words appear on the page. Malia's phone beeped a few times, and she handed the file over to Jared.

"That's weird," Jared said under his breath. "This one, Kathryn Winters, she's different from the rest in the fact that she has no criminal record. I think we should start with her." He tapped her file a few times, then closed it and stood up.

"Lauren just texted me. She said she wanted us to stop by the crime lab. Maybe the techs found something for us."

Later:

"Hi guys!" Lauren Bianchi chirped from her computer. Jared nodded and crossed he room.

"What did you find?" he demanded, hovering over her shoulder as Malia stepped up next to him. Lauren pulled up a digital copy of the photo and pointed at the three other men.

"Those are Marvin's hunting buddies."

"They look familiar," Malia commented.

"I thought that too, but I couldn't place where I'd seen them before," Lauren said. "So I had Liam come take a look at it, and he pointed out something very interesting." She clicked on a tab at the bottom of the screen, pulling up the website for the District Attorney's office. At the top were four pictures.

"That's Marvin," Jared said, tapping the photo farthest to the left.

"And those are the other men in the photo," Lauren replied, indicating the other three photos. "Jason Schimmer, Richard Stark and Peter Desir."

"So they all worked together, and apparently hunted together too."

"Hey Lauren?" Jared asked. "Can you go back to the photo Mrs. Alexander brought in? I think I saw something." Lauren nodded and clicked back to the photo. Jared leaned closer, gently took the mouse from Lauren and zoomed in on something over Marvin's shoulder.

"There," he said, jabbing his finger against the screen. "That's her. Kathryn Winters."

"Good eye," Malia said.

"Who's she?"

"She's a woman who went missing about a week ago. We were planning on going to her workplace to see if we could find anything," Jared explained, straightening up.

"And now I think it's even more important that we check her out now that we have a tentative connection to her and Marvin. Let's go."

Elsewhere:

Mal shoved the pile of paperwork to the side of his desk and flexed his fingers. Rubbing his temples gingerly, he eyed the stack warily; there was no way for him to get everything done in one day. He dropped his hands to the empty desk space in front of him and sighed deeply. There was a throbbing pain deep behind his eyes. He could definitely feel a migraine coming on.

He realized he was absently rubbing his left ring finger, and he took in the absence of his wedding band. He just didn't seem to have good luck when it came to love. He and Sandra had simply been too young; how could they have known what love truly was? With Molly, he thought it had been different. He had loved her with all his heart, worshipped her even. He could even go as far as to say that Molly had been the love of his life. Natara, though... Natara was the one that got away.

His fist clenched angrily and he slammed it against his desk. He clenched his teeth as he tried to shake Natara from his mind. He'd never told anyone what had happened between them. Of what they did. He always suspected that the reason she left was because of what happened between them.

He'd never told anyone how his heart had actually hurt when he found out she was gone. His eyes slid closed as he remembered the moment Captain Yeong told him. He'd managed to pretend that he was fine, but he was anything but fine. Deep down, he knew Natara was most likely never coming back. She'd made the decision to walk out of their lives thirty years ago and if she'd wanted to come back, she would have already.

Mal just didn't want to accept it.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: COFFEE. End of discussion.

* * *

><p><em>Mal stood in the doorway of his three-year-old son's dark room. It had been a long day at the station, and he was just glad to finally be home. He could hear the soft, even breathing of his son as he slept, and a smile played on his lips.<em>

_He pushed off of the doorway and crossed the room silently, careful not to wake Jared up. According to Molly he had only fallen asleep an hour ago. Mal kissed his forehead and stroked his thick, dark hair. Jared's eyes cracked open the tiniest bit and he blinked up at his father._

_"Daddy?" he asked in a small voice. Mal laid his hand on his back and rubbed it in small circles._

_"Go back to sleep, Jared. I'm right here."_

_Jared grabbed his father's hand and held on tight. "I love you, Daddy. I wanna be just like you when I grow up. I wanna help catch the bad guys."_

_"Mal smiled and pulled the covers higher and draped them over Jared's body. "Alright. You can do that when you're older. But for now you need to go to sleep, okay?" Jared nodded and yawned. "Goodnight, Jared. I love you too."_

_"Night Daddy."_

* * *

><p>"Thank you for letting us do this, sir." The principal of the elementary school grunted.<p>

"Just be quick about it. The students should be coming back in from recess in half an hour." The principal closed the door behind him and walked away at a brisk pace. Jared chuckled under his breath and shook his head.

"What's so funny?" Malia demanded.

"The principal, Mr. Dodson. He was the principal when I came here, and he hasn't changed a bit." Malia rolled her eyes and moved towards the desk. She opened the bottom drawer and shuffled through its contents. Nothing really out of the ordinary: lesson plans, handouts, a few spare pencils. The top drawer proved more useful. In addition to pens, a couple packs of gum and make-up, Malia found a few pictures. She flipped through them as Jared took a look in the closet.

"Hey," she said suddenly. "Hey, come look at this." She held out the picture on top to Jared.

"It's the same picture," he said. "The same as the one Mrs. Alexander brought in."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Malia scoffed, dropping her hands.

"No prob, Lieutenant sarcasm. Anyway, we already knew that they were connected, somehow. She was in the background."

"Yeah, but you didn't see this one." She held out another photo. Kathryn posed next to Marvin as they smiled into the camera. Marvin had an arm wrapped around Kathryn's waist and Kathryn had one hand on Marvin's chest. Jared pointed to the ring on her finger.

"Kathryn and Marvin were engaged?" The door swung open and the two of them spun. A young woman stood there, a baffled expression on her face.

"Oh, I- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you," she apologized quickly. "I just heard voices in here, and then I heard Kate's name and I thought maybe... I'm sorry, I'm Mary. Mary Kingsley. I teach in the room next door."

"Did you know Kathryn well?"

Mary shrugged. "I guess. I mean we hung out a few times, and we talked all the time. In fact, I was the one she came to when she and her fiancé called off the engagement. She was so torn up about it, cause she thought Marvin was _the one_, you know?"

"Wait, wait, wait. They called it off? Do you know why?"

"No, she wouldn't tell me. I asked multiple times, but she just said he did something that she couldn't forgive him for, and then a few days later she went missing." Jared and Malia exchanged glances. Malia's phone beeped, and she opened the text she just got.

"Lauren wants us to stop by. She says she found something interesting. We'd better go."

"Thank you, Mary. You've been really helpful. Let's go." Jared stalked out the door and Malia followed quickly.

At the Crime Lab:

"What do you have?" Jared said as soon as he opened the door.

"Well I remembered that you told me that Marvin and his buddies often went down by Santa Cruz to go hunting, right? So I did a little digging, and I figured out that there's only one resort sort-of place in the woods around there. Turns out Marvin is a regular there, as are Richard Stark, Jason Schimmer and Peter Desir."

"Alright, but how does that help us."

"Jared, a J. Schimmer was the DA involved with the Meryl Vacek hit-and-run. My guess is that the other two are DAs as well."

"And your guess would be correct," Lauren smiled. "The four of them were up there almost every weekend. It's a crazy reclusive place, off in the middle of nowhere. It's relatively cheap, too. I checked their logs, and the four of them all booked spots up there for this weekend."

Jared groaned. "That's during the detective's retreat. There's no way my Dad'll let us skip it. Believe me, I asked and he said that unless I was dying or on fire or something, I wasn't getting out of it. The mayor's making him do it as part of his re-election campaign or something..." Lauren beamed.

"Well that's the best part," she said. "The lodge has been known to host event occasionally. For example, this week it's hosting a Detectives Retreat for the San Francisco Police Department."


	5. Chapter 5

AN: Guys, I have some really, really sad news. I just about cried when I realized this, and I'm slowly getting over it. But it's still really sad and I just can't believe it.

I lost my fake handcuffs. D:

* * *

><p><em>Gasping for breath, Natara sagged as if boneless against the hospital bed, covered in sweat and thoroughly exhausted. The doctors were rushing around the small room, a blur of hands and arms and words. She tried to gather up enough strength to raise herself up on her elbows, and then she heard it: the tiny wail of her baby.<em>

_That tiny cry triggered some instinct buried deep in her brain, and she suddenly needed to hold her baby, her child. She raised her head and felt her arms reaching out, and a second later the infant was placed on her chest. The little girl squirmed on her chest, wailing loudly as she tested her limbs for the first time. Natara's arms circled around her, cradling her there._

_The doctors cleaned her without even removing her from Natara's grasp, which was a good thing since she was pretty sure she wouldn't have been able to let her go. They quickly swaddled her tightly in a soft blanket and put a small, pink hat on her head._

_How strange it was to finally meet the little person who had lived and grown inside of her for all those months. Natara found she couldn't peel her eyes away as she stroked the tiny hands and feet that she'd once grabbed at as they pushed against her stomach from inside. She was so small, tinier than Natara thought anything could ever be. She drew the infant closer, pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head and smiled._

_"Hi there, Malia. I'm your mommy."_

* * *

><p>Malia eagerly leapt from the bus as soon as the doors were opened. She loved being a detective, and she enjoyed working with Jared. But if she was being honest with herself, with the exception of Jared, Captain Fallon and Lauren, she didn't really like anyone at the station. Sure, she respected them and was polite, but they weren't people she'd choose to willingly spend a long weekend with. Unpaid.<p>

She and Jared stuck by each other's sides as they grabbed their bags and were herded into the lodge. The only thing Malia was looking forward to was working on the case. Mal had granted them permission to continue to work on it during the retreat, but only in the free time that they had and only if they participated in whatever activities were planned.

A man greeted them in the lobby and introduced himself as Ryan, their instructor for the weekend. They were ushered down a corridor and through a set of double doors, and Malia froze.

Bunk beds. Lots of them. She heard Ryan happily tell them that in order to enhance their comradeship and trust in each other, they would be cohabiting as much as possible. Taking a look at her mostly male companions, Malia groaned inwardly.

In that moment, she would have given anything to be back on the bus.

Meanwhile:

Mal growled under his breath as he slammed the phone back down into its cradle, biting back a scream. Never again would he allow Seth Holland to coerce him into sending his detectives to the woods for four days. With all of them gone, the most experienced officer he had was Harry Lannan.

What made it worse was the knowledge that his son was out there with them. Sure he was a detective and sure, he could take care of himself. Mal couldn't help it; it was his automatic instinct to worry about his son.

He stared down the mountain of paperwork piled on his desk. With all the detectives gone, he was also left with an ungodly amount of paperwork to fill out, one of his least favorite chores.

This was an absolute nightmare.

Later:

"Malia? Malia Blackwell?" The detective twisted as she heard her name, and her stomach dropped to her toes as she realized who had called her out.

"Lindsey Hart."

"What are you doing here?" the other woman smiled. "Are you with the department?"

"I am, actually," she replied stiffly. "What about you?"

"Well, I work here," she smiled. "I helped coordinate the whole trip for you guys."

"Ah, good," Malia laughed insincerely. "Now I know who to blame if I hate it here. What about your old sidekick, what was her name? Rachel?"

Lindsey's smile faltered slightly. "She ah... she died, actually." Malia felt shock and disbelief cross her face. Of the two of them, Rachel had been the more tolerable of the two and hadn't made Malia miserable... much.

"Oh, um wow," was all Malia found she could say. "I'm sorry." Lindsey smiled sadly and walked away. Malia felt someone walk up behind her and place their hands on her shoulders.

"Who was that?" Jared asked. He'd seen and heard the entire conversation and was curious as to how the two women knew each other. "She was kind of hot." Malia made a disgusted noise and turned to face him.

"_Don't _say that," she gagged. "She made my life miserable all throughout middle school and high school. My mom just about went on a murderous rampage when she found out."

Jared chuckled. "Sounds like mommy dearest has quite the temper."

"I suppose she does." Malia allowed a small smile. "Then again it could just be that she's over-protective of me. I am her only child, after all."

"Ha. Lucky. I have a sister who's five years younger than I am, Kailynn. She's a pain in the ass, but she's _my _pain in the ass."

"Sounds like you were close."

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. We never really saw eye-to-eye, but that's probably because I'm a eight inches taller than her." Malia laughed and shook her head.

"Yes, I guess that's it."

"Can I see all of the detectives over here, please?" Malia groaned and planted her feet.

"There is no way I'm doing this," she protested. Jared laughed and nudged her forward a few steps.

"You're going to have to if you want to work on the case," he reminded her. "Come on, the sooner we finish, the sooner we can get back to work."


	6. Chapter 6

AN: False alarm! It was a false alarm, everyone. My fake handcuffs are safe and sound. They were under my bed. Crisis averted! :D

On the down side, I've managed to burn all of my fingers on my left hand, so typing should be interesting for the time being. It turns out that when you make chicken cutlets, the oil in the pan gets really, really hot, and it hurts if you accidently touch it...

Also I apologize for the overload of Natara flashbacks. It's so much fun to write for her!

* * *

><p><em>Natara held Malia close, reluctant to let her daughter go. She had known about this day for months, but that didn't make it any easier. If anything, it made it much, much harder. She couldn't help it as a few tears escaped and rolled down her cheeks.<em>

_"_Mo-om_," Malia whined in a wavering voice, "don't cry. Please don't cry, 'cause if you start crying then _I'll _start crying, and I don't want to leave you as a blubbering mess." She slowly extracted herself from her mother's arms._

_Natara sniffled and brushed her daughter's hair out of her face. "You're sure you want to do this? You're sure you want to go all the way across the country, to San Francisco, for a job? You can stay here, you know. You don't have to leave. I thought you were happy here."_

_"I was. I _am. _But after what happened here I... I just feel like I need a fresh start, somewhere else. You understand, right?"_

_And she did; Natara understood perfectly. 'Funny how history repeats itself,' she mused to herself._

_"But you'll be so far away," Andrew said, drawing Malia into a bear hug. "How will we know you're okay?"_

_"I'm a big girl, Dad," she laughed. "I can take care of myself. I'm a detective now, remember? Besides, Captain Fallon made it sound like they needed me- and badly." Malia's flight was called then, and she threw her arms around her parents, hugging them once more before kissing their cheeks._

_"I'll call you when I land," she promised before picking up her bag and walking over to the gate. Just before she boarded the plane, Malia turned back to her parents and waved goodbye one last time. Natara inhaled sharply as she suddenly saw Malia as a five-year-old, turning back to wave as she went to kindergarten for the first time. She raised her arm to wave back, trembling as she watched her baby leave for San Francisco._

_And then she was gone._

* * *

><p>Malia groaned as she made her way back to the lodge at a snail's pace. She was sure that every single rib in her body was broken, as well as her spine. Trust activities were her new definition of Hell, especially trust falls. Trust falls were something she wouldn't wish on her worst enemy, not even Lindsey.<p>

Jared had dropped her during the trust falls activity. _Twice._

She rubbed her aching back as she finally made it back, wincing as she pushed open the front door. The majority of the detectives were congregated in the main hall, chattering amicably with each other as they lounged around. She caught a glimpse of Jared talking with Lindsey near the bar, and her frown grew. He was _so _on her bad list right now.

She trudged towards the room with all the bunk beds; all she wanted right now was a hot bath and a soft bed, but she'd have to make due with showers that took forever to warm up and a lumpy mattress on the top bunk. She sighed wearily. When they got back, the mayor was going to get a piece of her mind.

She looked up and jerked backwards as she realized Jared was blocking her path. He grinned down at her, and she simply scowled back.

"Out of my way, Fallon," she spat, trying to brush past him. He caught her arm and spun her around, a wide grin still plastered to his face.

"Oh come on, Malia. It was an accident."

"Jared, I even said when I was falling," she sighed. "I asked if you were ready, and you said you were and you still dropped me. And then you did it again. I caught you every single... every..." She trailed off, staring over Jared's shoulder. Jared twisted and surveyed the room quickly. The majority of the detectives, that girl Lindsey, a few men dressed in camo, and a dad trying to quiet his crying children.

"What? What is it?" She pointed at the hunters.

"That's them. Those are the DAs." Jared peered closer at them and realized she was right. He moved to get closer to them, but Malia caught him by the back of his shirt and yanked him back.

"Let go!" he hissed at her.

"Make me," she hissed right back. "If you go over there, they're going to think something's up, and they'll be watching us for the rest of the weekend. Don't do it."

"If I go over there, though, I might be able to figure out what they're up to." He started to walk away again, but Malia rushed forward and blocked his path.

"Jared, part of my job as your partner is to protect you. Now, I know you want to go up to them and discretely interrogate them, but my gut is telling me that that's a bad idea. Please, don't talk to them."

"You sound just like my dad," Jared muttered, tearing his eyes away from hers.

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Jared refused to answer her, and Malia laid a hand on his shoulder. He brushed it off and strode past her, this time making his way towards the bar. Malia sighed and rejoined her fellow detectives in the lobby.

Later:

Malia picked at her food, pushing it around her plate sullenly. Jared still hadn't talked to her yet. She glanced up and sighed disapprovingly when she saw that he was still talking to the hunters. They all laughed at something and Malia felt herself bristle. So he'll talk to a bunch of suspects, but he couldn't face his own partner? She snorted in disgust and threw her fork down on her plate, where it landed with a loud clatter.

"You okay?" She jumped as she heard Ken's voice behind her.

"Fine," she said shortly, glancing over to Jared and the hunters again. "I'm fine."

"Really? Cause you don't seem fine to me. What's up?"

"Nothing."

"Alright, well can you at least tell me why Jared's talking to those guys over there? I recognize a few of them. They all work for the District Attorney's office. In fact, I think they're all prosecutors."

"I guess he just wants to make friends with them," she lied. Ken shrugged and walked away. Malia resumed playing with her food, pushing it into different shapes and figures. When Jared sauntered back towards the table she sat at, she simply ignored him.

"There's definitely something up with them," he said in a low voice.

"I know," Malia replied curtly. "I could've told you that without going up to them and getting all buddy buddy with them."

"Okay, okay. Fine. I get it. You're mad at me. That's fine with me, as long as you help with our investigation, _partner._" Ryan called all the detectives over once more, and Malia walked as quickly as she could over to the growing crowd. Jared bowed his head in frustration for a moment, and then followed everyone else outside.

He wasn't paying attention to anything Ryan said. He simply accepted the map and compass he was handed. Not that he needed the compass... or knew how to use it. He was more focused on the hunters, who seemed to be heading back out as well.

He frowned as they pulled Ryan aside and began talking in hushed whispers. One of the gestured to a shed with a sign that read 'Employees Only'. That other girl he'd been talking to earlier, Lindsey guided them away and gestured for them to hold on for a moment. A thick chain was wrapped around the door and secured with a lock.

"Hellooo?" Malia waved a hand in front of Jared's face. "You coming?" She pried the map from his hands and began walking off towards their first stop of the scavenger hunt, and he reluctantly followed. He threw one last glance over his shoulder, watching as Lindsey pulled out a key and led the hunters over to the shed.

He sighed as Malia led him into the forest, watching as she pulled herself over a fallen log. He couldn't bring her with him if he was going to go after the hunters; no matter what she said, he wasn't leading his partner into what very well could be a suicide mission. He would have to slip away. Slowly, gradually, he slowed his pace. The distance between Malia and him grew larger and larger, until he slipped away altogether.

* * *

><p>AN: Just a completely random and somewhat unrelated side note; my sister decided it would be a good idea to try trust falls in our tiny room at our dad's condo. She dropped me. Twice. And I have a scar on my elbow to prove it.<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

Ooooh this chapter is going to be good! Or at least I think it will. I don't know you might have a different opinion. Either way, there will be a lot of action, and maybe a few things revealed about the past?

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><p><em>Mal gently pushed the soft cotton of Molly's shirt up, being careful not to wake her up. He let his hand rest against the swell of her stomach, smiling when the baby kicked at his hand. His son. He quickly pressed a kiss to her stomach, pulled her shirt down, and kissed Molly's cheek.<em>

_He couldn't believe that in a matter of weeks he would be a father. A baby would live in the nursery down the hall and depend on his parents for basic human needs. It scared him a little, if he was being honest, but he also couldn't wait to hold his little boy in his arms._

_He gazed at Molly's sleeping face lovingly. She was curled up against his side as best she could, her protruding belly getting somewhat in the way. He wrapped an arm around her waist and slowly lowered himself to lie next to her. As he drifted off to sleep, he smiled._

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><p>Jared stepped carefully around trees and dead leaves, walking as silently as possible. He was headed west; he'd caught a glimpse of the hunters' map and saw a large portion of the west side of the forest circled in red. It was a few miles out from the lodge, but he had no idea where he was or how far away the hunters were; for all he knew, he'd been in the red circle for hours.<p>

A branch snapped close behind him- too close. He froze as he realized he wasn't alone. Spinning on his heel, he lashed out at his follower, only to end up on his back on the forest floor, pinned under someone else's body.

"Malia!" He hissed under his breath. "What are you doing here? Where did you come from?"

"Your butt," she muttered, picking herself up off of Jared. "What do you think you're doing? And why are we whispering?"

"I think I'm following a proper lead. You shouldn't be here."

"Number one, I'm your partner. I'm supposed to help you investigate. Number two, you shouldn't be here either. And number three, do you realize how much danger you put yourself in, wandering off after the hunters by yourself? Don't give me that look. I know exactly what you're up to."

"Well then you know that in all of the missing persons cases, at least one of the hunters was involved in their trials, with the exception of Kathryn. I know you went over the files, and I know that you noticed that too."

"Still, you should have told me what you were doing."

"So you could talk me out of it? I don't think-" He was cut off by the sound of a gunshot, not too far away. Seconds later, another one followed. Was it just his imagination, or were they getting closer? Malia looked around, dread filling her as she realized they were particularly sparse chunk of the forest.

"Jared, follow me." She grabbed his hand and ducked low, leading him towards a more dense part of the forest that would offer them more cover. There was another gunshot, and Jared knew that he wasn't just imagining them getting closer. Jared surveyed his surrounding quickly; the horrible gnawing in his gut was becoming physically painful.

"Malia," he whispered, "something's wrong." His eyes darted back and forth, and he stopped short when his eyes caught on a patch of freshly overturned dirt. Someone had been digging just a few feet away. The dimensions were similar to that of a grave.

"Malia!" he whispered more urgently.

"Jared, come on, we have to keep moving. We can't let them catch us here." She stumbled suddenly, knocking aside a piece of the underbrush. Her hand flew to her mouth as she glanced down.

"Oh, God." A bloody hand had been uncovered, clutching a piece of camouflage fabric tightly. Malia was certain that they had just found Marvin Alexander's killer. Jared bent down and began brushing away clumps of dirt, revealing the once beautiful face of Kathryn Winters. A bullet had been placed right between her eyes. Crackling and snapping sounds pulled their focus back to the present.

They ducked into a thick cluster of bushes and huddled together, just in time. Jason Schimmer emerged from the trees just a few meters away. He held the branches back as the two others, Richard Stark and Peter Desir, carried the body of a young man, also shot between the eyes.

"How you guys doin' there?" Schimmer asked. The pieces fell into place, and Malia trembled. She barely dared to breathe, certain they could hear her heart trying to burst out of her chest.

"Ugh, this guy's been staring at me for the last ten minutes," Stark complained. "Couldn't we have at least closed his eyes?" Desir said nothing; he simply stared at the ground.

"Put him down there," Schimmer ordered. The other two men complied, and Desir looked around nervously.

"What's up with you, man?" Stark asked him, clapping him on the back. "You've been weird for this entire trip."

"Do you really think we should be doing this?" Desir grimaced. "I mean with all the cops up here, don't you think it's a bit risky?" Schimmer laughed a deep, booming laugh.

"We haven't been caught yet," he pointed out, "and I don't plan to be caught anytime soon either. Quit worrying. We've been careful. Besides, we're the good guys."

Jared was pretty sure neither him nor Malia were breathing in that moment. They were so engrossed in the conversation in front of them that they had no idea which one of them had shifted, snapping a branch and giving their position away. Either way, the three hunters were all suddenly looking in their direction, and unless a rabbit decided to scamper out from the bushes, they were about to be gunned down.

"Run!" he whispered in Malia's ear, pushing her to her feet as he shoved her in front of him. The bullets started whizzing past their ears as Jason started screaming!

"After them! Don't let the get away!"

_"If you ever find yourself being chased, _never _run in a straight line." _Jared's mind dredged up the memory of his father telling him that when he had begun training him to be a police officer.

"This way!" He yelled desperately. He caught Malia's arm and yanked her to the right. The tree they had been running towards exploded in a shower of splinters as a bullet struck it. "Zig zag!" He wove between the trees and rocks, never letting go of Malia's hand. They continued to flee, the hunters' voices growing more and more distant.

"Where... are we?" Malia gasped in between pants. Jared turned in a small circle, trying to orient himself. He had no idea where they were, no idea which way the lodge was. He closed his eyes, focusing on his sense of hearing, like his father had taught him. Distantly, he heard running water; in the same second, he heard the voices of the hunters again.

"Come on! Hurry!" He began running again, forcing her to follow him. The trees started exploding again as they were hit by bullets from the hunters' rifles. Jared yanked Malia to the left, out of the line of sight, and skidded to a stop.

"_This _is you plan?" Malia shrieked over the roar of the waterfall.

"Just trust me!" He backed up a few steps, took a running start and threw himself over the cliff just as the bullets started whizzing by them again. He disappeared into the mist below. Malia growled under her breath before running towards the edge. She threw herself skyward as more shots rang out, and then plummeted downwards to the river below.

Later and elsewhere:

Mal fidgeted nervously, his phone clutched between his hands. Ken had called a few hours ago, informing him that his son and Malia had gone out with them for the scavenger hunt and never returned. This was exactly what he had been afraid of.

He'd already called his ex-wife, and one of the officers had called Malia's parents then informed him that her mother would be arriving on the next flight. Molly had arrived a few hours ago and was pacing around in the bullpen. Mal had already forbidden her to accompany him to the lodge, and planned on keeping Malia's mother from following him, too.

Mal ran a hand over his face, groaning inwardly. He couldn't stop his mind from imagining the worst possible scenarios. One of them got hurt and they got lost. Both of them got hurt and were unable to look for help. One of them was killed.

What if both of them had been killed?

Mal resisted the urge to throw up and buried his face in his hands. He couldn't stand not knowing, but he had to wait for Malia's mother to get there so he could inform them of what was going on before he could leave. A few units had already been dispatched up to the lodge; all he could do was wait.

A commotion arose from outside his office. He heard a woman yelling and was about to see what was going on when the door to is office opened.

"Sir, Malia's mother is here." He nodded to Officer Armento and brushed past her, trying to plan what he would tell Malia's mother.

"I am a former FBI Agent, and I demand to know what happened to my daughter!" Mal's breath caught in his throat as he listened to her yell. He didn't dare to let himself hope, but quickened his pace and rounded the corner. The woman he assumed was Malia's mother had one of the officers by the shirt and was yelling in his face. Seeing Mal arrive, the officer pointed to him, and the woman turned, a warm smile spreading across her face. Mal's eyes widened as he felt shock and disbelief cover his face.

"Natara?"

"Mal, there you are! Now, can you please tell these useless idiots to tell me where the _hell _my daughter is?"


	8. Chapter 8

AN: You have no idea how much I love writing this. Seriously. I've been waiting to write this chapter for so long.

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><p><em>Natara admired Malia as she slept soundly in her crib. Smiling softly, she couldn't believe that there had been a time when she hadn't wanted children. Now, she couldn't imagine a life without Malia.<em>

_The door opened and Natara smiled as two arms wrapped around her middle. Andrew pulled her back so she was leaning against his chest and pressed a kiss to her cheek._

_"Wake her up and I will kill you," Natara growled playfully. "God, I just can't believe she's almost two."_

_"Marry me, Natara." She spun in his arms, placing her hands on his chest._

_"What?"_

_"Marry me. I know that we've only bee dating for a year and a half, but the truth is I love you, and I love Malia." He tucked a stray hair behind her ear and cupped her chin. "So what do you say?"_

_Natara swallowed and found herself nodding. "Okay. Yes. I'll marry you."_

* * *

><p>Malia's head broke the surface of the river and she flailed there for a moment before treading water. Her heartbeat was frantic as she searched the water around her.<p>

"Jared!" she screamed. "Jared where are you?"

"Malia!" She caught sight of him on the shore, clutching his leg tightly. She paddled over to him, dragging herself out of the freezing water. The sun was beginning to set, she realized; surely people would have noticed they were missing by now, right? She stumbled over to where Jared was sitting. His jeans were ripped open and the edges of the hole were being dyed a deep crimson as blood leaked from his outer thigh.

"Jesus," she breathed. She quickly tore off a piece of her sleeve and tied it tightly around the wound, blinking the water out of her eyes as she did.

"We can't stay here," Jared managed to say around his chattering teeth. "We have to keep moving."

"On that leg? I don't think so." Malia straightened up helped Jared stand, allowing him to put most of his weight on her. She led him over to the base of a tree, so they were at least out of sight. Jared leaned heavily against the trunk, panting from exertion. He watched her as she spun, trying to find a suitable place for them to hide.

"Malia, just go find help," he urged her. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Just _please, _get away from here."

"I'm not abandoning you," she said desperately. "Especially not with those psychos running around out here. You're unarmed and wounded, and if you stay here you'll be killed for sure."

"And so will you if you stay here with me!"

"Just... give me a second. I'll figure something out." She slowly circled the tree, searching for a place to hide. Climbing a tree was out of the question, as was trying to outrun the hunters. Hiding somewhere on the ground, somewhere the hunters wouldn't think to check, was the only option.

"Come on," she whispered, returning to him. She helped him stagger over to a raised tree root. He balanced carefully as she knelt on the ground and inspected the root. There was a burrow underneath it, just big enough to hide the two of them. She grinned and helped Jared lower himself into the hole. His wounded thigh scraped against the ground and he bit back a cry of pain, knowing she would stop him and insist on finding a new hiding place.

"Stay right there, I'll be right back," she told him. He huddled against the ground peering out of the small opening for any sign of the hunters. Everything was still and peaceful, as if something so dark and horrible hadn't happened here in these woods.

Ken would find them, he reassured himself. Someone would have noticed that they weren't there, and they'd send out a search party. He tried not to think about how long that might take; these woods were huge, and it would take days to find them under normal circumstances. But they would be searching in the Eastern part of the woods, where the scavenger hunt had begun. They would be going in the complete opposite direction.

The burning sensation in his leg hadn't subsided; whoever said that gunshot wound eventually go numb obviously had never been shot before. He clutched at it, biting down another cry of pain. This was all his fault. He'd gone off alone after the hunters, and now he and Malia were stranded in the woods with a bunch of psychotic district attorneys.

Malia appeared at the opening again, scooting down into the burrow. She reached out and dragged clusters of underbrush and dead leaves in front of the opening, masking their hiding place.

"They're clever."

"Hmm?"

"They're clever," Jared repeated. "Sick, but clever. They've got this all worked down to a science. They're executing the criminals who got away. They knew what we would be looking for and what we wouldn't see. They hid the bodies in the woods, and we dropped the cases because there was no body."

"I know. But what about Kathryn? That's the one I don't get."

"I don't know. I guess she somehow found out what Marvin and his friends were doing and called off the engagement. That was probably the thing she couldn't forgive him for. She knew too much, and they'd already gotten away with it multiple times... They got cocky."

"They took her out here, and they killed her," Malia realized.

"But she managed to take one of them out. Marvin. She must have gotten away, and then he got too close. She must've ripped his jacket in the struggle... stabbed him... and then they killed her." Malia shuddered involuntarily.

As the sunlight faded, they curled up next to each other for warmth and settled in for a long, sleepless night.

Elsewhere:

Mal gripped the steering wheel tighter and gritted his teeth. A thick, awkward silence hung over the car, and his eyes darted to the passenger seat. Natara was tapping out an uneven rhythm on her leg, staring tensely out the windshield. He hadn't wanted her to come, but she'd threatened to shoot him and steal his car; she was going no matter what.

The sun's afterglow was quickly fading, and he could only hope that his son and Malia had found shelter by now. He adjusted his grip on the wheel again, flying down the road.

"So, Mal, are we going to talk, or are we just going to sit here and pretend we don't know each other?" Mal scowled, thankful for the dark.

"I don't see what we have to talk about." Natara scoffed at him and crossed her arms, turned her body slightly away from him.

"Maybe we could talk about the fact that we haven't seen each other in over thirty years. We could catch up, banter like we did in the old days, way back when."

"Or maybe we should talk about the fact that our kids are missing." Natara rolled her eyes and turned back to Mal.

"You know, I'm trying to distract you from that," she informed him tersely. "It's not good to dwell on it for long periods of time."

"And let me guess: you're telling me that as a profiler?"

"No, I'm telling you that as a _mother_. And as your friend."

"Alright then. Let's talk. Maybe we should start with the fact that you just up and left thirty years ago, dropped off the face of the earth, and then showed up out of nowhere again, hmm? Do you want to talk about that?" Mal barked. He glowered silently out the front window, trying to force himself to calm down. He knew he wasn't really mad at Natara; he was just stressed and worried beyond belief and was taking it out on her.

Natara dropped her eyes to her lap. "Mal, I'm sorry I didn't call or try to contact you, but it was for the best." Mal continued staring out windshield and she let out an irritated huff.

"Why did you leave?" he asked finally after a few minutes. "Is it because of what happened?" Natara was silent for a long moment.

"Well, yes and no," she said. "I don't regret what we did. But it created a complicated circumstance, and I just thought it would be better if I left."

"Circumstance?" Mal looked over and met her eyes for the first time since they'd left the station. "What circumstance?" Natara took a breath before answering him.

"I was pregnant, Mal."

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><p>AN: AND THE TRUTH COMES OUT! Whoo! Geez you have no idea how long I've had this chapter planned for.<p> 


	9. Chapter 9

AN: Wow. Even after that line in the last chapter I only get 1 review? Well, then a huge thank you to abbstagirl, who is the only person who has reviewed so far. I love you. Let's just face it.

Anyways this is probably the longest chapter I will ever write. Hopefully there's _something _in here that will get you to review.

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><p><em>"I'm very sorry to see you go, Natara," Captain Yeong said. She gazed across her desk at the younger woman, taking in her appearance with concern. She had dark circles under her eyes, and her clothes were rumpled and wrinkled. Her eyes were bloodshot and swollen, indicating that she had been crying recently, and that concerned her the most.<em>

_"It's necessary, Captain," Natara replied, her voice thick. "Things have come up, and I just think it's in my best interests to go back to Miami." Captain Yeong nodded slowly._

_"In that case, I wish you the best of luck," she said, rising to shake Natara's hand firmly. "It was a pleasure to have you work with my department, and if you ever decide you want to come back I'm sure I speak for everyone here when I say that we would welcome you back with open arms." Natara nodded and left the office for the last time, thankful for the empty bullpen._

_She crossed to her desk and began to listlessly pack her things away in a box. As she packed she came across an old newspaper clipping from when she and Mal caught the Maskmaker accompanied by a photo of the two of them, and she couldn't hold back the sob that escaped her lips._

_"Natara?"_

_She spun, startled by the voice behind her. Amy's eyes landed on the box on the desk, filled with Natara's belongings._

_"You're leaving?" Natara could only nod mutely, not trusting herself to talk. "Why? What happened? Is everything okay?"_

_Another sob escaped as Natara rested her hand on her still-flat stomach, tears pricking her eyes as she stared at Amy. Comprehension flickered across Amy's face, her eyes opening wide and her jaw dropping partway open._

_"Natara..."_

_"No, Amy. Everything's not okay."_

* * *

><p>"You were pregnant?" Mal asked in a dazed voice.<p>

"I'm sorry I never told you," Natara said, looking down guiltily. "I didn't want to keep her from you, or you from her. But I didn't want to ruin your career, and that was the only solution I could think of at the time. Looking back, I realize I could've done things differently, but I can't go back and undo what I did."

"You left because you thought it would ruin my career?" Mal demanded with a frown. Natara nodded. "But what about yours? I know you're not with the Bureau anymore. A kid wouldn't have ruined my career, but you let it ruin yours?" Natara scowled back darkly.

"I quit my job willingly," she said. "I left the Bureau because I didn't want something to happen that would leave my child to grow up without its mother. Everything I did was for Malia." At the sound of her name, Mal groaned and slammed his hand against the wheel.

"Ah, hell," he muttered darkly as they pulled into the lodge parking lot.

"What?"

"This means that two of my kids are missing in the woods."

Elsewhere:

"Well they couldn't have gotten far!" Malia jerked awake, barely stopping herself from screaming. Jared clapped a hand over her mouth, and she looked over at him, terror written clearly in her eyes. He raised a finger to his lips and she nodded. He lowered his hand and Malia crawled closer to the opening, peering out between the branches and leaves. The hunters were right by the burrow, and Malia almost squeaked in terror.

"With that current and those rocks? They were swept away and drowned. Their bodies will wash up eventually."

"You mean like Marvin? That will just lead them back here!" Schimmer bent closer to the ground, searching for tracks. "We keep looking. We'll head farther downstream and look for any sign of them there."

"And what then? If two cops just go missing, the department won't stop at anything until they figure out what happened. No doubt they've already started looking."

"Which is why we need to get to them first. We find them, we drown them if they're not already dead, and then we bring them back to the lodge saying that we found them in the river. They'll never suspect a thing." Schimmer stood and cocked his gun. "Let's go. We don't stop searching until there are two dead cops at my feet. They'll turn up eventually. Nobody just disappears."

Jared and Malia listened to the crunching of the hunters' boots as they left, letting out breaths they hadn't realized they'd been holding. Malia carefully pushed the brush and leaves aside, watching cautiously for any sign of the hunters. She pulled herself out of the burrow when she was sure they were gone and stretched her stiff limbs. Jared managed to pull himself out of the hole and stand up with Malia's help.

"How's your leg?" she asked quietly.

"It's alright, all things considered." He moved his leg slightly and couldn't hold back a hiss of pain. Malia's eyebrows knit together in concern, and she began to undo the makeshift bandage. The skin around the wound was bright red and inflamed, and Malia gritted her teeth.

"This is infected, Jared."

"No it's not," he insisted. But he knew it was infected; he'd known for hours. He could feel his temperature rising, a fever setting in, but he wouldn't tell her. He didn't want her to worry more about him.

Malia paced in front of him, one hand over her mouth. She really didn't like the idea of leaving him alone in the burrow, especially with the hunters still running around. But she couldn't just sit here while Jared's leg got worse and worse while they waited for help to come, and it had proven a safe place to hide so far. Either way, Jared was trapped here until help arrived; her looking for help was his best bet. With Malia's help, Jared was lowered back into the burrow.

"Are you coming?" he asked when she lingered outside. She knelt down by the hole and met his eyes.

"I'm going to look for help," she said. Jared shook his head and reached out to grab her arm as she started to stand up.

"No, you're not," he said. "Those psychopaths are still out there looking for us. They will not hesitate to kill you and bury your body someplace no one will find it. It's way too dangerous. Someone will find us eventually, okay?"

"That could take days," she said, a pleading tone leaking into her voice. "Besides, it was your idea for me to find help without you in the first place."

"Forget what I said!" he said angrily. "I will not let you put your life on the line for me." Malia reached down and pried his fingers off of her wrist and took a few steps back so he couldn't reach her.

"I'll be back," she promised him, then took off running into the forest.

Elsewhere:

Mal and Natara seemed to be glued to each other's sides. The officers searching the area around the path of the scavenger hunt had come back and informed them that they had found no sign of them. Mal decided to split everyone up into small groups and fan out in all directions; even so, it could take days to find them.

"Jared! Malia!" they called, straining their ears for any response. They could hear water running somewhere nearby, but other than that the forest was silent.

"So, whose idea was this?" Natara asked bitterly.

"_Mayor _Seth Holland thought it would be a good idea to send all the detectives on a retreat as part of his re-election campaign," Mal snarled. "The only upside I can find is that there won't be another detectives retreat for a long time after this."

"I'm just really, really worried about them," Natara confessed. "I-" A gunshot fired from far away, making both of them jump. Before Mal had a chance to stop her, Natara had turned on her heel and was sprinting in the direction of the shot.

Meanwhile:

Malia didn't dare to stop to rest as she tore through the forest as quickly as she dared. She hadn't known which way to go, but she had remembered seeing a river run by the lodge; following it was her only hope of getting out. Besides, Jared was counting on her. If there was ever a time not to screw up, it was now.

She paused as she passed a familiar landmark; hadn't she seen that bent pine tree when she had been following Jared? She continued on, making sure to place her feet carefully so she would make as little sound as possible. Still, as she made her way through the forest, she couldn't seem to piece together everything. The DAs had been executing people for weeks. So how had they gotten the victims up to the lodge? And how hadn't the employees of the lodge noticed?

Malia froze as she heard the click of a rifle being loaded. "Freeze, Malia," a trembling but familiar voice said. She raised her hands above her head, a feeling of dread settling in her stomach. Of course.

The last puzzle piece fell into place.

"Lindsey," she said as she slowly turned to her left. The woman held the rifle with shaking hands, leveled directly at Malia's chest.

"I can't let you walk out of this forest, Malia."

"You don't have to do this," Malia said, backing away slowly. Lindsey cocked the gun and raised the rifle to her eye.

"Don't move," she growled dangerously. Malia halted where she was, her heart hammering in her throat.

"I get it," she said. "I understand it, now. Rachel was your best friend, and you cared about her." She watched as Lindsey's face grew dark, and she knew she'd hit the nail on the head.

"She was just crossing the street," Lindsey choked out. "We were both in San Francisco and decided to meet at Starbucks, and that... that _bitch _came out of nowhere and hit her. She didn't even stop, didn't even care that she'd just killed someone!"

Malia slowly lowered her arms, reaching out for the gun with one hand. "And so you decided to make Meryl Vacek pay with her own life."

"Not me," Lindsey said. "_Them. _The hunters. I met them at a bar. They'd worked on Rachel's case, and were almost as pissed off as I was about the fact that it was thrown out on a technicality. They said they were sick of it, and they had an idea of how to fix it."

"Give me the gun, Lindsey."

"They were bored of everything there was to hunt. And there were bad people who needed to be punished. As they said: two birds, one stone."

"Lindsey, there's still hope for you. You didn't kill anyone. You can still have a life, but only if you _give me the gun_." Lindsey's eyes snapped up to meet Malia's.

"You know, I never hated you," she said. "I wanted to be like you. You had everything I wanted."

"Lindsey..."

"I never hated you," she continued, "until now. If I let you go, you ruin everything we've worked for." The gun stopped shaking, and Lindsey took careful aim. Before Malia had time to react, the shot had been fired and the bullet lodged itself in her left shoulder.

She was knocked off her feet, and Lindsey cocked the gun again. She scrambled to her feet and ran blindly through the forest. There were shouts of more voices, and she remembered belatedly that the hunters had been looking for them further down the river.

"Malia!"

"This way! She's over here!"

More gunshots rang out, and splinters from trees rained down on her. Her arm felt like it was about to fall off, but she pushed herself forward. She veered to the left, remembering what Jared had told her the last time they had been chased by the hunters. Her lungs burned as she continued to run, and she glanced back over her shoulder. Lindsey was the only one there. As she turned back around, she ran straight into Schimmer's waiting fist.

She fell to the ground, landing on her injured shoulder. Her head cracked painfully against a rock, and she couldn't do anything but lay there on the ground as her head swam. Schimmer grabbed a fistful of her shirt and yanked her into a sitting position. Lindsey kept the rifle trained on her as the other two hunters joined them.

"Where is he?" Schimmer demanded. "Where's the other one?"

"Not telling," she rasped. Schimmer backhanded her, and she cried out in pain.

"Tell me where he is!" He shook her a few times. She stared defiantly at him and pressed her lips tighter together. Schimmer reared back to punch her again, and she braced herself for the blow.

There was a click as a gun safety was removed. "Don't you even dare," a familiar voice snarled. Malia grinned as she caught sight of her mother and Captain Fallon, pointing both of their guns straight at Schimmer.

"Drop the guns," Mal said. The hunters slowly lowered their rifles to the ground and placed their hands on their heads. Mal collected them quickly.

"Now drop my daughter," Natara ordered. Schimmer growled as he released the clump of Malia's shirt he was holding and straightened up. Malia fell back against the leaves, too drained to hold herself up. Mal grabbed his cuffs and slapped them forcefully on Schimmer and Lindsey.

"I'll be right back," Mal said. "You think you can handle them while I'm gone?"

"I've got it, Mal," Natara replied, never taking her eyes off of the remaining hunters.

"I'll bring more detectives." Mal paused. "And more cuffs." Mal marched off with Schimmer and Lindsey, and Natara moved to her daughter's side.

"Mom, Jared's still out there," Malia said, struggling to pull herself up into a sitting position.

"I know." Natara kept her gun trained on Desir and Stark.

"He was shot," Malia said desperately. Natara looked down at her in alarm. "It was just a graze, but I think it got infected."

"Blackwell, where the hell is my son?" Mal called tensely as he re-emerged with Ken and a few paramedics.

"He was shot," Natara called back.

Mal swore under his breath. "Go get one of those off-road jeeps," he barked. The medic nodded and retreated back towards the lodge. "Malia, can you lead us to him?" Ken cuffed the other hunters and led them off.

"Yeah, 'course I can." Natara helped Malia stand. She swayed slightly, and winced when her shoulder was jostled a little too hard.

"Follow the river," she murmured, and took off into the woods at with surprising speed to get Jared.

Later:

A steady beeping drew Jared out of his dreams; he didn't have to open his eyes to know he was in a hospital. He was safe, then. Malia had found help. He shot up in bed. Malia. He didn't know where Malia was.

"Whoa, whoa, take it easy," Mal said, gently pushing Jared down back into the bed. "You're fine."

"Malia," he croaked. "Where is she?"

"She's fine," Mal assured him. "She's talking with her mother right now, but she said she'd stop by later." Jared relaxed, and laid back in the bed. Malia was safe too.

Mal cleared his throat. "There's... There's actually something I wanted to talk to you about," he began. "It's about Malia." Jared tensed again.

"What is it?"

"Years ago, back before I married you mother, when I was still a detective, I slept with my partner." Jared groaned.

"Dad, I didn't want to hear that," he complained. "Besides, you and mom and I had that talk when I was fifteen. I don't need to hear it again."

"Just listen. It's important. Anyway, weeks later she left, and I only recently found out that it was because she was pregnant. She said she hadn't wanted to ruin my career. But anyway, when you were missing, her mother flew out to help us find you two, and I found out that Malia's mother was my old partner, Natara."

"What are you saying, Dad?" Jared asked slowly. "Are you telling me that Malia is my half-sister?" Mal hesitated before nodding.

"I only found out a few days ago myself."

"Um, I'm not too sure what to say." The door to Jared's room opened, and Malia stepped in. Her face and arms were cut up more than the last time Jared had seen her, and her arm was in a sling. She took a seat next to her bed while Natara lingered in the doorway.

"Hi, Jared," she said quietly. "I'm assuming they told you, too?" Jared nodded, and Malia slipped her hand into his.

"What happened to your arm?"

"Nothing. Besides, you should be focused more on getting better." She grinned evilly before adding, "Baby brother." Jared rolled his eyes.

"You'd better not start calling me that," he said. "You are quite literally the older sister I never had... and never wanted." Malia gave him a gentle shove.

"Jerk."


	10. Chapter 10

AN: Yayyy. I finished this. And you guys are going to hate me.

EDIT: Like right after I posted this, I heard Adele's new song "Someone Like You" and I realized it could totally go long with this chapter/epilogue sort of thing. I personally think you should listen to it while you read this, but that's just me.

Anyway, I have to get off cause my mom's yelling at me to get ready for Hurricane Irene :P Thank you for sticking with this... monster to the end of the story!

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><p>Mal watched silently as Natara hugged Malia one last time. She murmured something in her ear that made Malia laugh, and then she picked up her purse and started walking towards the station doors. Jared made his way over to Malia, no doubt to tease her about something, and Mal smiled. The two of them still bickered from time to time, but they were also fiercely protective of each other, which made them a great team. They looked so aike, he realized, and he wondered how he hadn't seen it before.<p>

Mal heard the station doors open and close, and he sighed as his heart suddenly felt ten times heavier. Recognizing this one last chance, he quickly turned and followed Natara as she slipped out of the station.

"Natara! Wait!" Mal called, jogging down the steps. She turned, one hand on the door of the taxi waiting for her.

"Mal? What is it?" Mal took her free hand and held it between both of his.

"Stay here, in San Francisco. Please," he begged. "Malia's here, now... and so am I."

Natara opened and closed her mouth, struggling to find words. "Mal, I can't."

"Sure you can. I can help you find a place to stay, and maybe you could even help with some of the investigations. We could get to know each other again and catch up, and-"

"No, Mal, I really _can't_," she interrupted. There was something cold and broken in his gaze as she looked up at him. "I'm married, Mal. I'm married to a man I love, and who loves me. I moved on with my life, and my guess is so have you. You want to hold on to the past because you want to change what happened. But the hard truth is that you can't. Neither can I, no matter how much I wish I could. We were in love, once upon a time; nothing will ever change that. And maybe if things had worked out differently I would be jumping at this chance to move back and fall for you all over again. But thirty years is a long time, and we both have changed so much." Mal lowered his gaze.

"I was in love with you, you know," he told her. "Back then. I'm still in love with you, now." Natara shook her head.

"No, you're not," she said gently. "You're in love with your memory of me. That Natara, from thirty years ago... she's gone, Mal. She's not here anymore. She vanished the moment Malia was born. And I can tell that the Mal I remember... he's gone too."

Mal smiled a smile that came nowhere near reaching his eyes and laughed bitterly. "And I suppose you're telling me this as a profiler?" Natara's watery smile didn't quite reach her eyes either. She slowly leaned forward and pressed her lips to Mal's cheek. Mal's eyes slie closed as they began to water and his heart constricted painfully. Natara pulled back and stroked his cheek with her thumb before pulling him close in a hug.

"Good-bye, Mal." She pulled the taxi door open and got inside. Sniffling and wiping her eyes, she told the driver to bring her to the airport. She looked up at Mal as the taxi pulled away from the curb, then forced herself to face forward and not to look back. Because in life we can't go back. We can only go forward and face the future.

Mal watched silently as the taxi disappeared around the corner, taking Natara out of his life for the second time.

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><p><em>Fin.<em>

_Just so you know, I had that ending planned the entire time. In fact, I planned this entire story around that scene._

_Please don't kill me._


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